Snape's Secret
by Bookbanchee
Summary: Snape is running hurriedly around the side of the castle... where could he be going? Can Harry, Hermione and Ron unravel his biggest secret?
1. Chapter 1

Snape's Big Secret

Disclaimer: I do not own anything affiliated with Harry Potter. (though I wish I did)

Harry Potter is my favorite book series and has been an inspiration to write for me. I hope you enjoy my first installment and I will try and update the story regularly. Your feedback is always wanted! Enjoy!

"Look!" said Harry as he, Hermione, and Ron were walking back from tea at Hagrid's. Snape was running as quickly as he could from the direction of the Whomping Willow towards the castle.

"What in the world is he running for… or from?" asked Hermione in an amused tone.

"Maybe he's being chased by a herd of giant arachnids!" said Ron with a worried look on his face.

"Don't be silly Ron!" said Hermione in her best "matter -of-fact" voice, "Giant spiders don't venture out of the woods! I'm sure Snape has his reasons for running across the grounds! Though I don't have a single idea why he might, myself! He barely ever ventures out past the dungeons!"

"Let's follow him!" said Harry excitedly.

"Oh harry!" said Hermione, "Your hunger for adventure will never cease, will it?"

"Not if I can help it!" Harry said with a smirk on his face, "now c'mon!"

Quietly yet quickly the three friends made their way after Snape who kept looking worriedly behind him as if he _were_ being chased by giant arachnids. Harry stopped abruptly, causing Ron and Hermione to bump into him from behind.

"Ouch!" yelled Harry as he was rammed in the back by his friends.

"Sorry!" whispered Ron and Hermione together and they rubbed their heads in pain.

"I think we should continue under the invisibility cloak from here," Suggested Harry. "Snape's headed into the castle. It would take a whole lot of dumb people to not notice us chasing after him!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione slipped under the invisibility cloak and made their way after Snape. But right as Snape arrived at the front of the castle he stopped, looked around, and hurriedly decided to change his course by running around to the left side of the castle.

"Where do think he's going?" asked Hermione seeming very confused.

"Let's find out!" said Harry as he pulled his friends along to keep following Snape.

Once at the side of the castle, Snape paused, looked both directions (thank goodness for that invisibility cloak), and vanished, seemingly straight into the wall. The three pursuers ran to stand exactly where Snape had vanished.

"Where did he go?" asked Ron who looked just as or more astounded than the others.

"That's a wonderful question Ronald! Now help us look instead of just standing there like a muggle's statue!" said Hermione looking quite annoyed.

"Hey!" Harry exclaimed, "I think I found something!"

Ron and Hermione walked to where Harry was crouching and looked to see what he was looking at.

"A disguised switch!" cried Hermione triumphantly.

"How can you be so sure?" said Ron.

"How else would Snape have vanished into the wall?" she said smartly.

"True, very true," said Ron trying not to show his disappointment in being outsmarted by Hermione again.

"Should I push it?" asked Harry more directing the question at Hermione that Ron.

"Yeah! Push it!" said Ron excitedly.

"You always have to throw your two cents in there don't you Ron!" said Hermione, "I highly doubt this door will open by just pushing the button. That would seem way too easy for a secret passage created by our "cunning" Professor Snape." She said smugly. Though Hermione had good relationships with almost all of her teachers, she had never gotten to that level with Snape. For an obvious reason: She was friends with the most famous, _Harry Potter_, as Snape would say. But that is completely beside the point.

"Fine then!" said Ron, "I won't tell you about my special marks given to me by Professor McGonagall for my essay on transfiguring a bottle of pumpkin juice into a steaming mug of hot chocolate!"

"Oh Ron!" said Hermione sounding very exasperated, " I would love to hear about it except that you can't seem to remember that you told me exactly what you made on that essay and how much you wish you had done better than _unsatisfactory_!"

Ron became very quiet and alarmingly red in the face and decided that it would be wise to stop speaking now.

"Will you two break it up and help me out here?" asked Harry who always seemed to get quite agitated when Hermione and Ron got into arguments.

"We're sorry Harry!" said Hermione shooting a nasty look at Ron who cringed and looked away, "Try hitting the button,"

Harry pressed the button and to his and the others' surprise a door shot open revealing a long passageway.

"Wow!" said Hermione, "I didn't expect it to be that easy!"

Ron rolled his eyes.

"Looks like this won't be needed any longer!" Harry said stuffing the invisibility cloak back into his robes.

"We're going in there?" asked Ron as Harry and Hermione walked into the tunnel.

"Of course we are pudding brain!" said Hermione, "Why else do you think we followed Snape!"

Ron mulled this over in his head and apparently decided to accept Hermione's explanation so the three of them walked into the tunnel.

The tunnel had low ceilings and was full of ancient, exposed pipe-work. It was cold and musty as if it was only used every once in a while. It smelled of mildew and moss which most likely covered the walls.

"Lumos!" whispered Harry as a sphere of light burst from the tip of his wand. The others did the same.

"This place is eerie!" said Ron taking in his surroundings.

"That's an understatement!" Harry replied as he coughed as if the mustiness of the tunnel was inside him.

"I can't believe Fred and George don't have this tunnel mapped out?" said Ron. "I thought they had every nook and cranny of this place figured out!"

"Well they obviously missed one!" said Hermione. "No one could entirely "figure out" Hogwarts anyway!"

Harry was barely paying attention to the other two's conversation. He was too deep into his own thoughts and ideas. Did Dumbledore know about this tunnel? When and why was it created?

Where did it lead? Whose idea was it? Could it have been created by his father and Sirius? Why was Snape using it to get into Hogwarts? What secrets could he be hiding? Too many thoughts were being stirred in the cauldron of his brain.

The tunnel sloped and swerved through who knows where until finally Harry, Ron and Hermione arrived at an old, worn down, wooden door.

"Should we open it?" asked Hermione snapping Harry out of his short-lived trance.

Harry looked at the door and then at the handle and then at the lock and said, "Yes, we should try, but I have a feeling we're going to have to be ready for something more than moss and dust this time."

Ron gave Harry an uneasy look.

"Wands at the ready?" asked Harry in a bold, confident tone.

"Ready!" said Hermione and Ron in sync.

"One, two…THREE!"

The door burst open and the three students were showered in a bright, golden light. Their eyes adjusted and all three gasped at the astounding sight before them.


	2. Chapter 2

Snape's Secret: Chapter 2

Harry, Hermione and Ron were standing in the doorway of a large, brightly lighted room. It had maps of random passageways covering the walls and multiple tables covered with all kinds of drawing utensils from rulers to compasses.

"Where in the world are we?" asked Hermione as they stepped into the room squinting from the change of brightness.

"Good question!" answered Harry as he walked over to one of the maps on the wall.

"What would Snape want with maps of random tunnels and passageways?" pondered Hermione, "It's not like he's ever shown an interest in anything but potions and snagging the defense against the dark arts position!"

"Yeah…" said Harry in a half listening kind of way.

"Jeepers!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry and Hermione drew their wands simultaneously and rushed to where Ron was standing. No sooner then they arrived where he was standing did they lower their wands with a sigh of relief and exasperation.

"Ron!" moaned Hermione, "How can you scare us like that! And over a miniscule spider!"

"I can't help it!"Said Ron panting, "Those things flip the begeebers out of me!"

"Well next time don't scream like that," said Harry.

The three of them kept searching the room in silence, looking for something of which they did not know.

"Hey guys!" yelled Ron, "I think I've found something!"

Harry and Hermione ran to where Ron was standing to see what he had found.

"It's a door!" squealed Hermione in an excited voice, "We should try and open it!"

The door looked heavy. In the very center of it was an old brass knocker with a lion's head on the top. It had a matching knob which looked like an old, ornate, Corinthian column.

"Why do you think there's a knocker?" asked Ron confusedly, "I've always thought it was easier to just use your hand."

"Ron… people weren't as casual as they are these days… especially as casual as you! Besides, this door probably wasn't made to be put here. I'm sure it was taken from somewhere else. The knocker itself is not nearly as intriguing as the lion's head on the top. I wonder why it's there and where the door came from."

"What do think Harry?" asked Ron obviously looking for some backup.

"I think we should open it," said Harry, "who knows what's behind it!"

"Alright," said Hermione, "Here goes!"

Hermione pulled open the door and to her surprise there was yet another passageway.

"Well that's a disappointment!" said Ron, "There at least could have been something interesting!"

"This is interesting!" said Hermione, "What's more interesting than a tunnel, which we have no clue where it goes?"

"Snape wearing bejeweled pants with his name on the tag in the back," said Ron.

Harry began to laugh as Hermione told Ron off.

"Well… what are we waiting for!" asked Harry.

"An invitation!" said Ron, "That tells us to get the heck out of here before we get eaten by giant nine legged hairy spiders that have poison glands which shoot out poison that ties us up and hangs us upside down in mid air and we…"

"Shut it Ron!" yelled Hermione who looked quite shaken from Ron's graphic description, "One: I can guarantee that we aren't going to get an invitation and Two: Spiders only have eight legs."

"C'mon guys!" yelled Harry, "It's not like we can get lost in a straight tunnel!"

"True," mumbled Ron.

The three of them began walking into the tunnel and no sooner then they shouted Lumos, they came upon a fork in the tunnel.

"So much for your "straight" tunnel Harry!" said Hermione.

"Which way are we gonna go?" asked Ron.

"Well…" began Hermione, "Splitting up is out of the question and none of us have any clue as to where either tunnel leads so Harry… you should make the decision!"

Harry stared at her slightly suspiciously and finally spoke, "Well… eany-meany-miney- toe tells me to go right so I guess we'll go that way!"

"I thought it was eany-meany-miney-moe!" said Ron.

"Does it matter, Ron?" said Harry.

"Well… not really… I guess," said Ron.

"Are you two done with your outlandishly childish discussion?" asked Hermione who by this time was quite annoyed.

Harry sighed and said, "The right it is!" and the three continued onward into the dark depths of the musty tunnel.

"I wonder what this place actually is?" asked Hermione.

"And where it's leading us!" added Harry.

"Those maps back in the room were very interesting!" said Hermione, "I don't have any idea what they were a map of or who created them. All they seemed to be were bits of a map of a maze like you get on those kids menus at restaurants and…"

"Hermione, that's it!" exclaimed Harry in a tone of understanding.

The others looked bewildered at being unable to understand.

"This is a maze," began Harry taking a deep breath, "All those maps back in that room were different sections of a maze… this maze.

"Oh my goodness Harry!" started Hermione, "I think you're right! I can't believe that I didn't think about that!

"Why can't I be the one to outsmart Hermione!" moaned Ron in an almost inaudible voice.

"There is only one problem," said Harry, "We don't have the map and we've already taken so many turns subconsciously there's no way we're going to be able to find are way back or out!"

"Good point," said Hermione, "Why didn't I take the maps with me! I thought about it but then I decided against it because I thought we were only walking into tunnel! Ugh! How can I ever forgive myself?"

"Well," said Ron, "There isn't much we can do besides embrace the challenge and plunge ahead!"

"You're right," said Hermione, "We could at least stop and try to make a plan or something,"

"Alright," said Harry, "I think we should all stick together… the last thing we need is us getting separated! I don't know anything about mazes… especially this one… and since we have no knowledge of what this place is or who created it I think we should just keep walking."

"Ok then… If you remember those maps back in the room they were all of almost a grid-like appearance. We at least know that this maze is not a circle," said Hermione.

"But guys!" started Ron, "How will we ever find our way out if we have no clue where we're going?"

"That's the thing Ron… we have no clue what we will encounter or where we are," said Hermione.

"Wait!" said Harry, "I have an idea!"


	3. Chapter 3

Snape's Secret: Chapter 3

A/N: Alright guys! Here's chapter three! Things are starting to heat up a little bit! Read and enjoy!

The three had stopped in the middle of the tunnel and Hermione and Ron looked at Harry with expectation in their eyes. Could there be hope in this desolate dungeon of a maze?

"I can't believe I forgot!" said Harry.

"Forgot what?" said Ron and Hermione in unison.

"I have the Marauders Map!" exclaimed Harry.

Hermione looked a bit disappointed. "I don't exactly see how that can help us," said Hermione.

"Yeah," said Ron who seemed to be siding with Hermione more often, "We aren't even in Hogwarts!"

Harry heaved a deliberate sigh, "But we're underneath Hogwarts!"

Ron stared at Harry in a very confused manner while Hermione beamed at him in awe.

"Harry, that's ingenious!" she exclaimed.

"Is anyone going to tell me about this new revolution or are you gonna leave me to sit in a hole?" asked Ron who seemed quite frustrated.

"This maze is underneath Hogwarts," Harry began, "The Marauders Map shows exactly who is where inside Hogwarts. If we use the Marauders Map to show us where the people in the castle are and we know where we are in this maze we can figure out where the different sections of the maze are, thus helping us find the exit on the other side of the castle. The only problem is that we don't know exactly where we are in the maze so it might be difficult to locate our position if we were standing inside of Hogwarts."

"Hold on," started Ron still trying to absorb Harry's plan, "How do you know this maze is only under Hogwarts and not any other part of grounds?"

Harry looked a little taken aback by this question and finally spoke up with a bitter edge to his voice, "I guess I just assumed that since it started at the edge of the castle that it ended around the edge of the castle but now that you mention it I'm not entirely sure!"

"Actually Harry," said Hermione, "You're right. As I was looking at the various maps in the room back there one of them in particular intrigued me. At the top it read "Labyrinthus Hogwartius" translated into English meaning: The Hogwartian Maze. It showed a complete model of the foundation of Hogwarts implying that the maze only stretches as far as the castle does."

"Hermione! Why didn't you tell us this back in that room! If we had known we would've never gotten ourselves into this bloody mess!" yelled Ron slightly uncontrollably.

"If I had thought about what it said or actually paid attention to the drawing at the time I would have saved us from going into this maze, _Ronald!_" snapped Hermione whose eyes had that on-the-brink-of-tears look, "I didn't remember it or try and translate that phrase until right this second and who would of thought that there would actually be a maze underneath Hogwarts! It looked like a room of an architect's dreams… not their accomplishments!"

"I'm really sorry, Hermione," said Ron who had apparently been humbled by Hermione's unpredictable outburst, "I never would have thought so either but I guess we do have to face reality. I think we should get to Harry's plan now."

Harry understood Ron's pleading look of "get-me-out-of-this-rut!" and he redirected the conversation back to his plan.

"I still don't know how we can know exactly where we are in the maze though," said Harry who was thinking out loud, "It's not like we tracked our every move into this place!"

"Actually…" said Hermione, "I tracked how long it took us to reach this point… it was kind of a personal experiment that I'm planning to use in my Muggle Studies class but I guess it will help here too! I also tracked how many steps I took in one minute… also part of the experiment."

"Why do you need this information for your Muggle Studies class?" asked Ron.

"Does it really matter right now, Ron?" asked Hermione, "Besides… you wouldn't understand!"

Ron looked slightly angry at this terse comment but he let it roll over his head and accepted the minor insult for fear of another argument.

"And remember…" Ron thought to himself, "You're trying to be on her good side!"

"That's awesome!" Harry exclaimed to break the awkward silence, "So if I'm not mistaken you can now calculate how many steps we took with the amount of time it took to take them, and by taking into account the size of your steps you can calculate how far we have gone into the maze!"

"Exactly!" said Hermione whose spirits seemed to be lifted by the fact that _someone_ had understood her train of thought, "And then… you use the legend on the Marauders Map to figure out how far into the castle we are and we can find our place! Wow Harry! I didn't know that you were so good at math!"

"I guess all those years of Muggle schooling actually paid off!" said Harry in a mocking manner with a huge grin on his face.

Ron stood sulking in the shadows wondering why he had such a hard time coming up to Hermione's standards and why he couldn't please her so easily.

"So," said Hermione who was obviously trying to get the group back on topic so that they could deal with their predicament, "If I have done the calculations correctly and have understood the legend of the Marauders Map, we are directly underneath the great hall probably below the Slytherin's table."

Ron's stomach rumbled audibly. "I wish I were in there eating dinner and drinking pumpkin juice like everyone else!" said Ron who was clutching his stomach and letting out a groan.

Harry and Hermione ignored Ron entirely and kept on making plans.

"But Hogwarts is HUGE!" argued Harry, "It will take us forever to navigate the maze and get to the other side!"

"That's the risk we have to take," said Hermione, "I don't see how there would be any other way out except for out the other side of the castle."

"The one thing I still don't understand," said Ron forgetting his want of food, "is how Snape seemed to know exactly where he was going when he went into that hidden door on the side of the castle, but he led himself straight into this muggy maze to find his way into Hogwarts when he could've just walked through the front door?"

"You're right Ron," agreed Hermione, "He must have had a reason for walking into this treacherous making of a maze. The question is why he went in and how he knew about it in the first place. It just doesn't make any sense!"

"Yeah," Ron said lending is consent, "It just doesn't make sense!"

As soon as Hermione was finished speaking, Harry had walked ahead deeper into the tunnel to find, yet another fork in the road.

"Hey guys!" Harry shouted back at the other two, "Come see this!"

Ron and Hermione ran over to where Harry was standing to see him staring at the ground. They both gasped in surprise.

A/N: How'd you like Chapter 3? I want FEEDBACK! Are the cliffhangers any good? More will be coming!


	4. Chapter 4

Snape's Secret: Chapter 4

Harry, Ron and Hermione were staring down at the surprise laid before them. At the fork in the road on the ground there was the Gryffindor crest with the gold and red and the lion. It was more in the right passageway. On the left side there was a Slytherin crest with the green and the silver and the snake. They were all thinking the same thing: Why would there by passageways with indications of the different Hogwartian houses?

Hermione finally broke the silence, "Why in the world are these here?

"Good find, Harry!" said Ron, "But yeah, why are they here and why are they each in a different passageway?"

"It's like it's forcing us to make a decision!" said Hermione who had her "thinking face" on.

"Maybe it wants us to choose which way to go," said Harry, "The only thing I don't understand is why there is only Gryffindor and Slytherin. Where are Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?"

"I agree, Harry," said Hermione, "The fact that it's only those two houses makes me wonder."

"Well I guess that means were going to the right!" said Ron as he sidled down the Gryffindor passage. Hermione followed.

"Hold on, guys!" said Harry pulling the two back out of the tunnel.

"What's the matter, Harry?" asked Ron, "We are Gryffindors aren't we?"

"Yeah Harry!" chimed in Hermione, "We don't have all day to just stand here and think!" Hermione felt kind of hypocritical when she said that remark.

"But guys!" said Harry, "If we want to figure out why in the world Snape is in this place, we can't go the Gryffindor way… we have to go Slytherin." Harry said that last part with a grim look on his face.

Ron and Hermione stood there for a second before Ron piped up, "Who cares about Snape?" he said, "Isn't the most important thing that we get ourselves out of here as quick as possible?"

Hermione came to Harry's defense this time, "I don't know Ron. Snape is obviously up to something fishy and I believe it is our job to figure that out. After all… we are Gryffindors aren't we? Brave hearted and determined!"

Ron didn't have a retort to that one so he just shrugged and looked at Harry for further instructions.

"Alright then!" said Harry, "Let's go!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione began walking down the passageway. It was different than the other corridors had been. It was cold and the walls were slimy with moss. Water was dripping from the exposed pipe work and there was a faint draft from who knows where.

"This is weird!" said Ron, "It's so different from the other passageways!"  
"Slytherins are different than the other houses!" said Hermione drily.

"I wonder what's different about the Slytherin way opposed to the Gryffindor way?" asked Harry.

"The Gryffindor passageway is probably more happy and uplifting!" said Ron.

Harry dismissed Ron's comment and asked, "Hermione, where are we now?"

Hermione stuttered for a second and consulted the Marauders Map and finally said, "It looks like we're underneath the… Hufflepuff common room! It looks as if it's near the kitchens which are directly underneath the great hall."

"Hmmmm…" said Harry, "How far are we from the dungeons?"

After a couple of minutes Hermione replied, "It looks like the dungeons are to the left of the Hufflepuff common room so if we come to a fork I guess we should go left."

"Alright," said Harry, "let's just keep walking."

The three kept walking in silence. No one knew what to expect… in their heads thoughts were being tossed around like fish in the sea. Who knows how long it would take them to find their way out… or what they would encounter along the way? There was a silent understanding between them of the danger that they were putting themselves through.

There was a noise around the corner. Hermione and Ron stopped abruptly while Harry motioned to stay put and be quiet while he checked it out. Harry crept along the passageway with his wand raised and ready to strike at any moment. Ron and Hermione had subconsciously grasped each other's hands in the terror of the moment. Harry rounded the corner and gasped at what he saw. Proffesor Snape was lying on the ground seemingly unconscious.

"Guys!" Harry whispered loudly to the two standing around the corner.

Hermione and Ron let go of each other's hands and ran to see what Harry had found. Both of them were very taken aback at the sight before them.

"Is he alive?" Hermione asked with a nervous quiver in her voice.

"Good riddance!" said Ron who was obviously not perturbed by their potions teacher lying on the ground, possibly dead.

"Ronald!" yelled Hermione who was very upset by Ron's composure. She believed he should be disturbed by this.

"Sorry!" whispered Ron.

Harry was checking Snape's pulse. "He's alive for sure!" said Harry, "Now whether he's able to get up or not is the question… I'm not sure why he's lying there. It almost seems like he's sleeping!"

As the three were deciding on what to do with him, Snape stood up.

Hermione gasped, "Look! He's standing up!"

Ron and Harry turned around to see a standing Snape start to walk away down the corridor.

"Professor!" Yelled Hermione, "Professor!" Snape didn't pay heed to Hermione's calls at all.

"Where do you think he's going?" asked Ron, "It's like he's in a trance or something!"

"Yeah," said Harry, "Let's follow him."

They all started walking after Snape… very confused in the head and wondering who put what kind of enchantment on him.

"Maybe he's under the Imperius Curse!" said Hermione.

"Maybe so," said Harry, "But by whom?"

"I don't know," said Hermione who looked perplexed.

"He didn't look Imperiused when he ran into the door from outside the castle!" said Ron, "Maybe he's just in a bad state of mind and doesn't notice his surroundings because he's so nervous about something!"

"A possibility," said Hermione, "But highly unlikely!"

"Where is he taking us?" Harry asked Hermione as they kept following Snape.

Hermione got out the Marauders Map and checked to see where they were heading, "It looks like he's taking us toward the Slytherin common room!" said Hermione who now looked very worried. "I take that back!" she said, "He's taking us towards the dungeons!"

"Good!" said Harry, "That's where I figured he'd take us!"

"Why do you think that?" asked Ron.

"Have you noticed that Snape hasn't been seen walking around the castle lately? And I forgot to tell you guise that he hasn't been showing up very often on the Marauders Map. Usually only when he's teaching or is in his office." said Harry.

"Why didn't you tell us Harry!" asked Hermione.

"Well I didn't think anything of it…" Harry began, "At the times I looked there were always mobs of people and I figured that he was just mixed into the crowd. But now that I think about it… he's probably been in here!"

"I see!" said Hermione, "He must be working on something or doing something that he doesn't want anyone to know about!"

"Yeah!" said Ron agreeing with Hermione, "Now we just have to figure out what that something is!"

"Right!" said Harry, "Now let's keep following!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione followed after Snape for what seemed like a long time until Snape stopped not that far head.

"What do you think he's doing?" asked Harry.

"I don't know," said Hermione, "Wait! Is that a door he's trying to get into?"

They all stared harder into the almost darkness.

"Yeah, It is!" said Ron.

"Let's go!" said Harry.

And they all ran to the door.

A/N: How did you like it? REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!


	5. Chapter 5

Snape's Secret: Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry for the wait everyone! I have been quite busy the past couple of days! Hopefully this chapter will make up for the wait! Keep reading and reviewing! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip…

Harry, Ron and Hermione ran up to the door just as Snape closed it. Harry pulled the handle… nothing happened.

"Ugh, uh," Harry grunted as he tried to pull open the door, "It won't budge!"

"Back up," said Hermione as she lifted her wand, "Alohomora!" she said as the door burst open.

After the debris from Hermione's spell subsided and they could see clearly the three gasped in surprise. They were staring at a secret entrance to… somewhere.

"Where do you suppose this goes to?" asked Hermione who was tumbling the possibilities around in her head.

"I don't know," said Ron, "Let's keep going."

They started into yet another passageway (which by now they were used to) and soon came to an ascending spiral staircase.

Harry looked up and down the staircase and finally spoke, "You guys stay here… I'll go up first to make sure this thing is stable." He started walking forward.

"Whoa mate!" said Ron who pulled Harry back, "I'll go back and see if this thing is stable!"

"No way!" said Harry, "I got us into this mess! I'm going!"

"Quit it, you two!" yelled Hermione, "I highly doubt anything will happen when we walk up this staircase… but… to make you two stop fighting we'll all go together!" Hermione really thought this was quite childish but it was the only way to get them to stop fighting.

Harry and Ron seemed to agree to this idea and they all started up the staircase. As Hermione predicted, nothing happened while climbing the staircase… until they stopped climbing and came to the top. Another door stood in their way.

"Well…" said Harry, "Let's get going!"

Hermione opened the door to something none of them expected. Standing before them was Professor Snape surrounded by people all sitting in chairs in a semicircle. He was talking to them as if teaching them something… the board he was using was facing towards his pupils and none of them seemed to notice the three astounded teens watching the scene in utter confusion.

"What in the world is this?" whispered Ron in a taken aback way.

"I don't know!" said Hermione, "It seems to be some sort of class or something for… I don't know who…"

"Do you think they know that we're here?" asked Harry who seemed very perplexed.

"I don't think so," said Hermione, "Let's try and sneak around to see what Snape is trying to teach them.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't take much time to actually look around at the room. It had a very classroom-like feel. The people were sitting in desks that were laid in a semicircular formation. They all had books out on their desks and were listening intently to Snape's lecture. The walls were lined with bookshelves laden with books. Oil lamps flanked the bookshelves and let off a warm light that lit up the room just enough for everything to be visible. They made their way around the left side of the room. No one seemed to notice them and even if they did, they didn't pay heed to their presence. Finally the three of them were far enough around the room to see and hear what Snape was talking about. They all gasped audibly.

"Are those… muggles?" asked Ron who had a look of incredulity on his face.

"I think so!" said Hermione and Harry together with no less of a surprised look on their faces.

"Look what he's teaching them!" whispered Hermione in her most quiet, surprised voice, "They're learning about… MAGIC!"

Harry thought about this for a second and then said, "We have to talk to Dumbledore! Snape isn't doing this on his own accord! Someone's using him!"

"Merlin's pants!" said Ron, "You're right Hermione! Look what that board says at the top!"

On top of the board was a sign that read:

"_**Score perfectly on your final exam and earn your wand!"**_

"But they can't have a wand!" said Hermione disbelievingly, "They're muggles! They have no magical ability!"

"Look at the rest of the board!" Harry said grimly, "I think I know who's behind this mess!"

"Snape's teaching them about Vol… Vol… Oh I can't bear to say it!" said Ron, "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!"

"Snape must be under You-Know-Who's control!" said Hermione trying to process this all in her brain, "I know! Vol… demort… is trying to get the muggles on his side! It all makes sense!"

"It does?" said Harry and Ron together.

"Yes…" said Hermione who seemed to be having one of her "I understand it all now" moments, "Voldemort is using Snape as his number one recruiter for his ultimate _army_. Muggles are the perfect soldiers. He can wipe their memories and use them to his own disposal, not having to worry about shedding wizard blood. How he is getting them to know magic and use wands still puzzles me!"

Harry and Ron stared at Hermione as if she had just told them that they'd won a thousand galleons. It did make sense!

"So…" said Harry, "Snape has no clue what he's actually doing while he's not in the castle. Voldemort uses him as his little puppet unless he has a class or another obligation. Then he's free to do whatever he wants with him! The question is how Voldemort knew about the maze and why Snape can't just get to this room through the dungeons. It would be a lot faster!"

"Don't you understand!" said Hermione exasperatedly, "Snape uses the maze to transport muggles into this room without them being seen! He can't just bring them through the castle! It would be everything but a secret!"

Ron spoke up, "Then let's get going to Dumbledore! The faster the better!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran around the room to where they saw a door.

"I thought you said that the maze was the only way to get into this room, Hermione!" said Harry.

"I never said that!" said Hermione, "I only said that Snape doesn't transport people except for through the maze. I'm guessing this door leads into the dungeons. Now let's get going!"

Ron opened the door to exactly what Hermione had expected: the dungeons. They ran through the dungeons up to the ground floor and up to the head-master's office ignoring all of the questions from their peers who had no clue where they had been for so long. Finally they arrived at the two gargoyles that flanked the door to the rotating spiral staircase that led up to the Head-master's office.

"Great!" said Ron, "Now what are we going to do! We don't know the password!"

"Start naming candies!" said Harry as Hermione and Ron looked at him like he was crazy, "Just do it!" Harry said obviously annoyed at their unwillingness.

Finally Ron yelled, "Chocolate Frogs!" and the Gargoyles slid to the side revealing the spiral staircase.

A/N: I hope this was up to your standards! It might seem like a twist to the story but what's life without surprises! ;) Anyway… sorry for the wait again… I've been so busy! Enjoy!


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